Claire Parker
by Elizabeth Bells
Summary: Years later, and two girls show up at the hospital, asking House to save their dad. They're Lisa Cuddy's daughters. Rachel and Claire. House take the case to find out, Claire, is more than just Lisa's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**Nineteen years after House and Cuddy split ways.**

**House's team is still, however unlikly, the same.**

**Please don't flame my story. Please Review.**

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><p>"I'd like an audience with Doctor House," Claire Parker said with her hands folded across her chest. "He'll take my father's case."<p>

"No, he won't," the hospital director, Doctor Forman, said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, but he just won't."

"Let me guess, not interesting enough for him," the other sister said with a raised eyebrow and a frown. "You let my sister talk to him for five minutes, he'll take the case."

"What makes you so sure?" Forman asked.

"I have some rather….interesting information for him," Claire shrugged. She looked up at her older sister, Rachel who rolled her eyes.

"What kind of information?" Forman asked, sitting at his desk.

Rachel shrugged, "the kind that will make him take the case."

Claire sighed, "We'll tell you when he gets here."

Forman stared at her for a moment before walking over to his desk and picking up his phone. "House, my office, now."

The three all stood around awkwardly for a moment. "Please, have a seat," Forman smiled but neither of the girls sat down. Forman couldn't believe they were related. Claire, the fifteen year old was fair of skin with dark hair, the other, Rachel who was twenty, was tan with light brown hair. They were an odd set of sisters.

"Rachel, calm down, everything will be fine," Claire reassured her older sister. "House is the best there is. He'll fix dad."

Rachel took a deep breath and tucked her knees to her chest. "I know."

"Can I get either of you a glass of water?" Forman suggested.

"No thanks," the girls said at the same time.

"You rang?" House said, limping in through the door. His hair was graying, a slight balding was evident. His cane smacked the floor with a loud' thump' every time he took a step. His mind, sarcasm, and irritating personality hadn't changed a bit though.

Claire whirled around and her eyes widened at the man. First she looked curious, then surprised, then angry. "So you're the bastard who has the power to save my dad, but won't?"

House turned to look at Claire and smirked for a moment. "Who are you?"

"This is Claire and Rachel Parker, the daughters of Brian Parker, the patient you shot down," Forman said.

"We want an explanation," Rachel said firmly.

"He the one who can't feel his legs or arms?" House turned to Forman who nodded. "Boring. Now, if you don't mind, I'm missing a tv—"

"We're Lisa Cuddy's daughters," Claire spat out and House froze, his hand still on the knob.

Very slowly, the man turned around to face the two girls. With his cane he pointed at the older girl, "You're Rachel. Of course," he watched her, then turning to the other girl. "Your mom married, huh?"

"Yeah."

House looked around. "If she wants me to save her husband, sending her little girls to—"

"Mom's not here. She died," Rachel spat at him, "Three years ago to Cancer."

House paused, he lowered his gaze and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as me," Claire answered, unshaken. "Still, she told me you were the best. My dad is dying, you need to save him."

She glared at him, daring him to object. Finally, after a moment of silence, Claire got up. "Come on Rachel, he's not going to take it. I was wrong."

"Wait," House stopped her. "Cuddy, you're mom, why did she tell you about me?"

"All of her best stories were about you House, Rachel wants to be a doctor, like mom. She used to tell us about the best cases," Claire stared at him. "She said you always took cases where you could save a life. I guess she was wrong."

"Your dad, he's a good guy? Was always good to her?"

"The best," Rachel promptly answered.

House stared at the two girls before he took the file for Forman, "I'll think about it."

And with that, he left.

"Will he take it?" Rachel asked the shocked Forman.

"I don't know," Forman shook his head and shrugged.

"He'll take it," Claire seemed sure. "He'll save Dad."

"Cuddy was your mother?" Forman finally asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," Claire Parker nodded, her eyes finally moving from the door where House had just left. "He'll save my dad. For her."

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><p><strong>Please Review! <strong>

**Also, I usually update REALLY fast so. Yeah. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back with the next chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing! **

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><p>"Good," House nodded to his team, "Chase, Jessica, go get a biopsy." His team nodded and they all scurried to their destination.<p>

He watched them all leave before turning to his white board to stare at it. He wasn't sure why he had taken the case. He'd gotten over Cuddy years ago…hadn't he? Just to find out she'd died. The concept seemed unreal. She was buried in some cemetery he didn't know, in some town he'd never been to, in a world he'd never been able to fully enter. Sure, he'd put his life together after jail and made things go back to the way they were: without Cuddy.

So why? This man, this Brian Parker, the man who had married Cuddy, who'd had a child with Cuddy. And that girl. Claire was it? She looked so much like her mother. But Cuddy, she never would have asked for his help like that. She would have stormed right into his office. This girl was less direct, must have been from her father. A real wimp.

Rachel. She was a lot older now, and she was going to be a doctor like Cuddy. Perhaps someday she would be a great one. And that Claire. Now she was Cuddy's biological daughter. What were her plans?

House shook his head and subconsciously reached into his pocket. He snapped the cap back and let a little pill fall into the palm of his hand. Not much had changed. He looked down at his vicadin for a second, of all the things in his life, that hadn't changed.

He turned when he felt a pair of eyes on him, and there was that girl, on the other side of the glass window, watching him. She stood outside his office, staring into his eyes as if she could read him like a book. He stared back, giving her the same gaze.

Claire had never been one to go indirect. She was a head on type of gal, but not to him. She didn't want to talk to him, after all the stories from Mom, she just wanted him to save Dad. Yet, there she was, subconsciously rounding the corners until she found his office. Would he be able to save her father? Did he even care? Why should he?

She slowly pushed open the glass door and proceeded inside. "Do you know what's wrong with my father?" Claire asked in a monotone.

"We have a few running theories. They'll let you know when the tests are complete," House said, reaching for his coffee cup.

"You haven't even gone down to look at him," Claire stated, crossing her arms, "How can you treat something you can't see?"

House turned to face her, his eyebrows raised. "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

Claire took a step back, feeling embarrassed, but she was too stubborn to let him know that. "Of course not, Doctor House, I was merely making an observation."

"Right," House snorted, hobbling over to the door that led to his desk, pushing it open. She followed him in. "Was there something else you needed?" he snapped.

"I have a question for you," Claire picked up the ball on his desk. "Doesn't it annoy you?"

"When little girls ask annoying and cryptic questions?" House huffed.

"When you notice things other people don't, when you know things no one else does, when you realize things no one else would have put together," she explained calmly, "Especially when you would have rather never known?"

House stared at her for a second before rolling his eyes. "Oh, yes, very much so."

The girl glared at him but with more annoyance than anger. "You aren't like I expected you to be. You fall short of my expectations. I figured you be able to answer all the questions no one else could. But you can't save my father, can you?"

House sat back in his chair. "I think you should leave."

"Why did you take the case?" Claire asked suddenly

"I once wronged your mom. This is my way of making up for it. One hole in her house equals I save her widower."

She stared at him for a moment, with a hint of curiosity. She stuck out a hand for him to shake. "It's good to meet you Doctor House."

Gregory House stared at the hand as though it was made of poison and then up at her as though she was stupid. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a people's person. I'm doing my best to come up with the answers you want, but I can't do my job if I have interruptions from little girls who want to play 'good cop, bad cop'.

Claire retracted her hand and clenched her jaw. With a nod, she left his office. But she turned around once at the door. "Save my father, House."

And then she was gone. "I'm trying," House mumbled to himself. He picked up the ball from his desk and tossed into the air.

_Doesn't it annoy you? When you notice things other people don't, when you know things no one else does, when you realize things no one else would have put together, especially when you would have rather never known?_

House snapped his head back in the directions she'd just disappeared too. What did this girl know that she wish she didn't?

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please Review!<strong>

**Next Chapter Soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm Baaackk! Thanks for reading! And thank you so much for reviewing, I didn't think anyone would really like this story but me XD Glad some ppl have taken an intrest. Sorry for any mistakes!**

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><p>"We're still not sure what's wrong with your father, we're doing everything we can," Jessica explained to the girls.<p>

"That isn't good enough!" Claire's fist pounded on the table.

"Claire!" her sister set a hand on her shoulder and Claire instantly looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried," Claire explained. "He's my dad, ya know?"

"Yeah," the doctor nodded sympathetically.

Claire turned to stare at her father. He looked so…what? How did he look? She wasn't sure how to describe the sick man. He was always so tall and strong, now he lay in the bed looking fragile and tired. She looked to see Rachel also looking at him. But tears were in her eyes.

Claire reached and pulled her older sister into a hug. Her sister instantly broke into a sob. Her mascara stained Claire's shirt, not that she cared.

The doctors all panicked for a moment before slowly leaving. It was akward, none of them were prepared for this. After watching hundreds die, this one occasion was diffrent.

"They're Cuddy's girls," Chase shook his head.

"So?" Chi shrugged.

"You never met Cuddy," Taub chewed on his lip. "Claire is almost just like her."

"I think Claire seems different," Jessica pushed some hair out of her face. "She's smart too."

"What do you mean?" Chi asked raising an eyebrow.

Jessica considered it for a moment, "She was doing a crossword. She finished it in like…three minutes. Funny, because I knew maybe...two of the answers?"

No one answered, they all just kept walking. When they reached House's office they weren't too surprised to see him going through some records.

"There is something about this girl," House stated, looking through a file on her.

"Which one?" Jessica inquired.

"Claire. She's been kicked out of two schools. She always gets the top grade though," House snorted.

"So? She lost her mom," Taub pointed out.

"How many valads' do you know that get kicked out of school?" House countered.

"Were you ever kicked out of your school?" Chase asked.

House glanced up at him but didnt grace that question with an answer. "But she knows something. She knows something no one else would have," House stared at the papers. "She's hiding something."

"How do you know?" Chase asked.

"I know everything," House said arrogantly.

"Why would she lie? She wants to save her father!" Chi said exasperated.

"Everybody lies," House reminded her, "Especially teenage girls."

"I didn't lie," Jessica folded her arms.

"No, you just ran away from home," House said not even looking up. "There is something about this Claire Parker. Something she hasn't told us."

"Nothing that will help us with the case," Chi barked, "I think we should be more focused on the dying patient."

"She's right," Chase nodded. "He's not going to last much longer."

House stared at the wall for a moment, "I think I'm going to need to meet him."

No one said what they were thinking. House wanted to go see the guy who Cuddy had married, had raised a child with. No one said a word as they turned and left. They left House to his own silence, his own loneliness.

But he got up from his chair and began to make his way to the patients room. He stopped with he saw Claire Parker sitting outside the room in a chair. Her eyes were fixed on a nurse, who was busy with her duties. House followed her line of vision and studied the woman. She looked tired, and completely worn.

Claire stood, made her way towards the woman and spoke, "Excuse me, do you know what time it is?"

The woman smiled at the young girl and looked down at her wrist and then nearly jumped. "Just after 1."

"Thank you," Claire nodded with a smile and then made her way back to her chair. House noticed the cellphone sticking out of her pocket.

"Why ask the time if you have the answer?" House asked her.

Claire looked over at him, not surprised by his appearance, "She needs glasses, it's only 11. She's dangerous. Nearly gave my dad an overdose."

House inspected the woman and then nodded. "I'll see to her later. Right now, I should talk to you dad. Where's your sister?"

"Getting coffee," Claire told him and he nodded.

"Good, I'll just be a minute. I want a moment alone with him."

"Sure," Claire shrugged, watching him walk in a shut the door behind him.

He took one look at the man's face and studied it. Then he froze. Squinted as if there was something not quite right, and then turned around and left, his mind racing. Something was wrong.

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><p><strong>Sorry! But I love suspence! lol, Thanks for reading. Review are appretiated!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**And were back, my fellow fictioners, I give you: Chapter 4! BUM BUM BUM!**

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><p>In his office, Gregory House sat puzzling. He stared at the wall, absentmindedly throwing his ball into the air and catching it in the hook of his cane. His eyes searched as though the answer was written in the wall.<p>

Across the hospital, sitting in a chair outside her father's room, was Claire Parker. She too was puzzling, staring at a picture in her wallet. In that picture was her family: her mother, Lisa Parker; her father, Brian Parker; and her sister, Rachel Parker. They were all smiling in that picture, but recently, without Mom, things had gotten lonely, incomplete.

Maybe, that was part of the reason she'd needed to talk to House. Her mother had told her House always had the answers. Claire had somehow gotten it in her head that House would be able to answer all her questions too. But perhaps, she had been wrong. Maybe, he wasn't as brilliant as her mother had said. Maybe he couldn't save Dad.

Claire snapped her wallet shut and frowned. She sat in annoyance at her inconclusive ponder. Answers always presented themselves to her. She could fix everything, anything. It was amazing what she noticed, what she saw that no one else did. She was smarter than everyone else, more sneaky, more deviant, yet she was also kind hearted.

Claire didn't want to be at the hospital. She wished she could go home to Minnesota. Or at least, she told herself that's what she wanted. Perhaps, that's not what she wanted either. She was miserable at home and bored, sad, and alone. Mom had left the house rather empty.

Claire had no puzzles at home, no happiness, no meaning. Here? In the hospital, puzzles were everywhere. Something was always happening. She was so brilliant; maybe she should become a doctor like Mom and Rachel. But no, she pushed that thought away. She knew very well why she wouldn't be a doctor.

"Hun?" Rachel leaned over Claire with coffee smelling breath.

Claire jolted at her voice and turned to face her sister, "What?"

"I don't know, you just seemed sad," Rachel frowned at her.

"Just thinking," Claire answered, a little annoyed with her sister for interrupting her thoughts, "About Dad."

Rachel nodded and looked through the glass door that led to their father's room. "He'll make it. He's in good hands."

Claire snorted and shook her head.

"Well, I believe House can do it," Rachel nodded defiantly. "He's smart."

Claire rolled her eyes. She didn't answer, just crossed her arms and huffed. She glanced to see her sister's fifth cup of coffee. "Haven't you had enough?"

Rachel glanced down and shrugged sheepishly. "Can't help it."

Claire nodded, looking away. "I'm going to take a walk around."

"Aright," Rachel glanced back once more at her father as her sister walked off.

Claire had every intention of going to ground level and going for a walk, but when she was approached by a new doctor, her attention was shifted elsewhere.

"You, are you Cuddy's daughter, Claire?"

"I'm Lisa _Parkers_ daughter, Claire," She replied but nodded.

The man offered his hand and she shook it slowly. "I'm Wilson, Doctor James Wilson. I just thought I'd introduce myself to Lisa's daughter."

Claire studied him for a moment. "That's not it. What do you want? If you just wanted to meet Lisa Parker's daughter you would have come to my room and met Rachel too. She might not be blood related, by Mom raised her. And you knew who I was right away. Someone told you a lot about me."

Wilson seemed to panic. He shrugged his shoulders and quickly glanced around.

"Did House send you?" Claire asked abruptly.

"What? No. But err, he seemed to think you were interesting so I thought I'd find you. It's strange, I can see why you surprised him. Great deductive reasoning," Wilson chuckled, but then he stopped and stared at the girl.

"What?" Claire snapped, as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside.

Wilson shook his head as if ridding himself of the idea. "Nothing." But as the elevator doors closed, Wilson seemed lost in thought. Just another person snared in the thoughtful puzzles that centered around Claire Parker.

Meanwhile, in his office, House quickly stood, his mind set with determination. He opened the door and hobbled out into the hallway.

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><p><strong>Again the suspence Beth? Yep! :) It's just more fun that way! Don't worry, I'll start moving it faster soon. Thanks for reading. Review are appretiated!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! Sorry for the long pause but I've been kind of busy.**

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><p>"You were right," Wilson admitted as House walked into his office. "She's different."<p>

House just nodded. There was something about her that had sparked his interest.

Wilson seemed to have noticed. "You like her don't you?" Wilson asked suddenly.

"She's fifteen Wilson!" House commented as though his friend was crazy.

"You know that's not what I meant," Wilson eyed his friend, "You'd hire her right now if you could." Wilson stifled a laugh. She was only sixteen or so.

House smiled. "She's…."

"Like you," Wilson nodded in agreement. He opened his mouth as if to say more but then shut it quickly.

"What?" House raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Wilson said quickly but then he turned and left the office with House staring after him questioningly.

Wilson slowly made his way to House's patients room where he found Claire, sitting with an empty Sudoku puzzle, not even started yet. She was holding her pencil to the paper to scratch down the first number when Wilson made his way over.

"Hello Doctor Wilson!" she smiled cheerfully.

"You're Dad, he isn't your real Dad is he?" Wilson asked immediately.

Claire's smile dropped to be replaced by a grimace. She glanced up at him once before writing down two more numbers. "What makes you say that?"

"Lisa Cuddy's daughter…..you're also Gregory House's daughter aren't you? That's why you know so much about him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Claire said but she gripped the pencil so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She nervously held her breath.

"You're just like him," Wilson smiled fondly. "Why haven't you told him?"

Claire stood quickly, glancing around as if her world was falling apart, crumbling away. "Why should I? I don't want anything to do with him. I'm only here because I have to save my dad, my real dad. I never want him to know."

"Why?" Wilson asked feeling lost.

"Because he's a lonely, bitter, old man who has only ever used people to get what he wants. I won't become one of his pawns and I won't become like him. Only way I can do that is to keep my distance. Besides, he isn't as brilliant as mom said. His best friend figured it out and yet he couldn't," she said savagely.

"He does know," Wilson told her. "He just can't believe it. House can't comprehend the idea of a daughter. You have to tell him."

"No, and you won't either," Claire said, "I don't want anything to do with him. You must respect me enough not tell him."

"Why?" Wilson asked with a conflicting internal feeling.

"Because I won't be like him," Claire said as her eyes began to water. "I won't use people and I won't stick around to be used either. That isn't what I want."

"You can't keep a secret like that from a person, he has a right to know," Wilson explained soflty.

"No," Claire shook her head, taking a deep breath she straightened. "I have a right…to decide if I want him to know or not. And I don't. Please, just go."

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><p><strong>Hope you all liked, not sure if I'm very fond of this chapter but let me know what you think! Please and Thank you!<strong>


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